Kate and Gerry McCann arrived in Portugal last night as police hunting for missing daughter Madeleine prepared to swoop on eight suspects.

Scotland Yard’s Det Chief Insp Andy Redwood and Portuguese officers are believed to have finalised plans to arrest the men after tying up legal red tape.

They will quiz three suspected burglars, who were in Praia da Luz at the time Madeleine vanished in 2007, and five men who worked at the Ocean Club resort where the McCanns were staying.

Portuguese law means local police will do the questioning but British officers can sit in on the interviews.

A source in Portugal said: “The ­questioning will be done by the Portuguese, either at Faro or Portimao police stations. The men will be detained as ‘arguidos’ – or formal suspects.

Members of Scotland Yard clean an area during the search for Madeleine McCann (Photo: Reuters)

“The British are ready to go at a moment’s notice, but the decision on when the questioning begins is for the Portuguese police. It could start as soon as late June.

“The permission has been granted and there is not more legal paperwork to apply for.” The development came as the McCanns headed to Lisbon to give court statements in their libel case against the ­ retired detective who led the original investigation.

Goncalo Amaral, 57, claimed in 2008 book The Truth of the Lie that Maddie – three when she vanished – died in an ­accident and her parents covered it up.

Kate, 46, and Gerry, 45, of Rothley, Leics, are suing him for £1million.

(Photo: PA)

Last week Met officers finished searching wasteland in a fruitless eight-day hunt for clues. But they said it was only the “first phase” of a major investigation and fresh activity would “commence shortly”.

Detectives from Operation Grange – the Metropolitan Police unit set up to solve the seven-year-old mystery – believe Maddie was snatched by burglars who panicked after waking her.

Phone records show the suspects made an unusually high number of calls to each other in the hours immediately after she vanished.

A source close to the McCanns said: “It could be a major breakthrough. Kate and Gerry are buoyed by this latest development.”